Blog by Beebe Cline

8 Kitchen Amenities You'll Really Wish You Had

Don't waste another minute on your hands and knees in your kitchen,
searching for that missing cutting board or rolling pin. Built-ins and
storage additions can give you the perfect spot for every cooking
must-have. When done right, storage won't just keep your kitchen tidy,
it'll make it more functional.

Tired of spending half your time
in the kitchen just trying to find what you need? These eight
time-saving amenities can help you cook, clean and stay organized with
hardly any effort.

A drawer for the food wrap. Most
kitchen owners are familiar with the irritating, messy drawer of
plastic bags, foil and plastic wrap. It seems impossible to keep tidy,
and everything always seems to get stuck in the drawer.

A
food-wrap divider can simply slip inside an existing kitchen drawer. If
you're designing a new space, consider working with your cabinetry
designer to get a custom version for one of your drawers.

A place for the rolling pins.
Avid bakers will love having all of their rolling pins within reach.
These horizontal slots take up no more than 6 inches of depth, making
them easy to add to the end of any cabinet run. However, most do need to
be custom designed, which adds to the cost.

Pedals to turn the water on and off. Turning
on the faucet with messy hands can make an even bigger mess. Plumbing
pedals, like the ones in this kitchen, can help confine the mess. Just
like at the doctor's office, you can use your foot to turn the sink on —
hot water, cold water or both.

Contact a local plumber to ask for an estimate — pedals can be added to existing sinks or new kitchen designs.

An undercounter composting unit
like this one means you can just wipe all of your food waste off the
counters and into your bin before it goes out to the garden. Put one in
your countertop where you do most of your prep work to make composting
easy to remember and do.

A mobile butcher block island.
A built-in butcher block top makes prep easy — but some cooks prefer it
out of sight when it's not in use. A mobile prep cabinet like this can
be pulled out when needed and pushed away when not.

A handy step stool. It's
always great to have a leg up for extra-high upper cabinetry, but where
on earth should you store the step stool? An ultrathin model can slip
right inside a discreet drawer. This homeowner managed to sneak one
inside a toe kick.

A specialized step stool drawer like this is
offered by many cabinetry manufacturers — if you're designing a new
kitchen, don't forget to ask about this feature.

A protected pet station. The
kitchen tends to be the best place for feeding pets, but those metal
bowls full of kibble and water always seem to get underfoot. A built-in
feeding station keeps things tidy and out of the way. This pet food
station has a drawer above each bowl for treats, medication or leashes.